


Whisky and Sweets

by Entwinedlove



Series: The Great October Challenge 2017 [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-08-11 04:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16469048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entwinedlove/pseuds/Entwinedlove
Summary: Hermione treats a former Death Eater with a little kindness.





	Whisky and Sweets

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Death Eater Express's 31 Halloween Prompts  
> day 4 prompt: Antonin Dolohov / Hermione Granger / pumpkins / "you can't live off whiskey and candy"
> 
> [ ](https://i.imgur.com/dXAgTmV.jpg)

Hermione decided she would go shopping in Hogsmeade. Hagrid had a tendency to sell his overabundance of enormous pumpkins from a market stall near the Hogs Head for a pittance and she wanted one to decorate the front stoop of her little house.

She Apparated at the edge of town near the remnants of the Shrieking Shack. Her eyes travelled over the burnt shell the building used to be and reminded herself to light a candle for Severus Snape and Remus Lupin. She probably should light a candle for all the fallen from the final battle of Hogwarts but she didn't have enough shelf space for that sort of thing. For that sort of remembrance, she'd need to visit the memorial on Hogwarts school grounds and she didn't have time for that. She'd gone in May for the tenth anniversary of the end of the war.

She took a deep breath and started down the street. She wanted to browse Tomes and Scrolls for that new cookbook Hannah had published and see if they had the newest potions periodical because her copy had arrived by owl during a rainstorm and damaged the outer pages.

After that, she stopped by Hagrid's stall and decided which pumpkin she wanted to purchase. There was a tiny sign next to them that said, "At Three Broomsticks for dinner!" Hermione looked at her watch and nodded to herself. When had it become some late? She huffed and headed toward the pub. She may as well grab a bite to eat as well. She hadn't thought to pull anything out for dinner and she had an important meeting tomorrow with the Minister for Magic. It wouldn't do to eat a microwave dinner and have herself feeling bloated and uncomfortable.

The Three Broomsticks was packed with customers. She made her way to the bar and told Rosemerta that she'd like a Gillywater and a bowl of butternut squash. The proprietor nodded and gestured towards the back wall. She said something but then a table of rowdy patrons nearby broke out into laughter and cheers. Hermione assumed Rosemerta was telling her to have a seat and she'd be served shortly. The back wall had fewer tables but a quick glance over them showed that most of them were full. There was one that had one patron, a man, his head down and his hands holding a glass in front of him.

It was really the only table that had room. Hermione made her way to it, sure that if she was polite the lone occupant wouldn't mind sharing the table. She approached and pulled out the chair, sitting down.

The patron didn't move until she was fully seated. He looked up at her and pierced her with dark eyes in a scarred, aged but familiar face. Her sharp intake of breath probably wasn't noticeable but he noticed when her hands clenched into fists. It was all she could do not to draw her wand. She knew better. He'd been incarcerated in Azkaban after the war and she was sure he must have been legally released sometime in the last year or two. Antonin Dolohov wouldn't be sitting here in a crowded pub if he were still a wanted man.

His eyes travelled over her face, taking in the changes. She knew she had gained wrinkles and a little weight in the ten years since the war, but she was still Hermione Granger, bushy-haired and plain, swot extraordinaire.

Her eyes wandered over the table, looking for something to say that would break the tension that his presence had caused in her. On the table between his hands was a glass of amber liquid. Closer to him was a small pile of sweet wrappers from Honeydukes.

"You can't live off of whisky and sweets," she said, hoping her nerves would hold and she could sound like she was chiding him.

His eyes met hers and his lips quirked slightly before he glanced down at the pile of rubbish in front of him. He looked back up at her and smiled a bit more widely. She still wouldn't have called it a full smile, but it lit his face in a way that didn't make him look quite so terrifying. "No, I s'pose I can't," he said.

She returned the smile.


End file.
